Post navigation

My first in-person encounter with Google Glass was at an In-n-Out Burger a few years ago. A guy standing in line getting ready to order but he had this extra gleam to himself while wearing them; as people around him (including the cashier) tried not to stare, someone finally asked him what it was and he was happy to explain it.

I’ll admit–I’m psyched about it. Not the cool-factor way but in a way that says, “take the phone from my hand and make it easier to use all the functionality” way. I really would appreciate not looking away from where I’m going or the person I’m with while I check something. The only way I could think that might be better is to have an eye-implant or make Google Glass invisible.

So, when I saw it at my Meeting for Worship on a new attender recently, it was kind of a downer. It made my Quaker-self meet up my real-world self, and realize that a) Glass was probably the most distracting object I’ve ever experienced during Meeting, b) it made me paranoid (who was watching through the video camera? was I being recorded? was the person going to stand?), and c) it was the dawn of a new world. Should Quakers ask attenders to turn off and remove these types of devices before Meeting begins?

Quakers have a keen desire for plainness, for reducing the clutter to our senses, in order to turn our attention toward God, or the Light that exists within humankind and the world. Quakerism has also had the flexibility to move and grow within the times; progress has not been an impediment but rather a slow revealing of the greater good that lies beyond our senses. So why does Google Glass worry me?

Introducing a tool with a lens connected to the Internet in front of our gaze, along with a camera pointed ahead to capture our surroundings, connected to one of the largest data companies in the world, during a time of silent worship feels wrong. This feels even more wrong than having a cell phone ring, someone snapping a picture of the Meeting in worship, or someone taking notes while someone is giving vocal ministry (I have experienced being in Meetings where each of these has happened).

Quakers have set up worship spaces in Second Life and I have been part of Meeting for Worship over Skype. What will help guide us through the time of Google Glass? Perhaps, as one person noted, “Then you will come to tweet cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every user.”

Happily, I’ve re-connected with my writing life with the help of my good friend, C. Wess Daniels, at his blog Gathering in Light, by writing about teaching Quaker worship to children. It’s an article that is focused on those new to Quakerism and who bring children who may also wonder what’s going on in the silence and what they can do to participate or, at the least, go beyond thinking of it only as “boring.”

It’s been interesting to realize that after working at a Quaker school for ten years, I’ve become accustomed to teaching worship as a skill. After attending Quaker meetings for more than 15 years, I think there is a “way” that (unprogrammed, liberal) Quakers have with worship that looks, from the outside, like meditation or, to children, pretty strange. Those of us in urban areas with urban lives can bring children who are stimulated by a host of things in our community that are exciting and stimulating, so sitting for an hour with adults saying things out of silence can seem detached or out of context. Building context, understanding routines and patterns in Meeting for Worship, and seeing beyond the words takes and adult (or at least a skilled, spiritually literate teen) presence to guide them. It’s not about the silence, it’s about the waiting and listening, we might say, but that’s pretty abstract and kids need concrete (or at least minimal) symbolism until around ages 13 or 14 to make meaning out of experiences.

I’m pretty excited to find out about Bernalwood, the local blog for my neighborhood, since I’m loving the neighborhood and it’s also a great site for micronews sites about SF–and it’s on WordPress, nice!

I’ve been wanting to take a trip to visit a Friday lunch at the Internet Archive for years since I heard about them. If you haven’t heard of or used it, it might be a shock to learn about its existence–since 1996, they’ve been “capturing” the Internet onto permanent, indexed, searchable hard drives on behalf of the public. The Wayback Machine is probably the most famous arm of this project, and one that I use to reference works I wrote way back when I was a music journalist for the online-only publication, Buzznet.

A year and a half ago, they moved from their old digs in the Presidio to their new digs in the former Christian Scientist building on Funston (at Clement) and done some renovating (along with their logo which now features the Roman columns on the building). It’s a beautiful space, and one that fits many “wings” of the organization that they’ve branched into collecting–sound, video, and, along with Google, a book digitization project which includes open access and a lending library, called Open Library. They are even suggesting the MegaReader app for iPhone/iPad users to access the collection.

Digital desk

As part of the lunch, each person had to describe why they were visiting or, if you work there, interesting progress or events from your project you are working on. I was visiting for several purposes with one being that my library receives unique items which are often Quaker-related and can be rare. I was particularly interested in seeing how their digitization works after realizing they have quite an amazing collection of Quaker documents already in their library for free viewing (482 as of this writing). One of the key findings, for me, is how this work is being done and shared as a research tool for Quakers, especially those not living near a library that would stock such items. Unfortunately, the cost is around $.10/page to have your document scanned, unless you donate the item to them, so this will most likely be cost-prohibitive at this point but it does bring hope that, should someone have a large bequest, they could probably pay for the scanning of many Quaker documents and have them housed, potentially, forever on open servers and open to the public. Better than a physical library in many ways!

I was particularly engaged by the Director of this project, Richard, who came from a commercial background and now works for this non-profit. He’s a great

A slice of the Internet

person to head this project as he definitely had a feel for why and how the Open Library will deal with the Googlization of everything in a non-commercial way.

The Open Library project is working toward offering books in many formats compatible with many e-readers out there, and have built their own web-reader which makes it available in this future-compatible format. And, since this past holiday season, it’s getting easier and easier to have access to e-readers. I’ve been an ebook fan/reader since back in 2000 when I started library school using my HP Journada 540 with a black-and-white screen.

While I’m not sure the Internet Archive will truly ever compete with the commercial world, it will continue its efforts to bring free books to the public in many formats and continue the fight for bringing books to people free of charge, so hooray for that. I’m happy to see that this is another answer for libraries as opposed to complicated DRM files and outsourcing to paid-vendors like OverDrive.